1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to refrigerator cabinets, and more particularly, to an improved cabinet wall structure to provide a seamless front face for a refrigerator cabinet.
2. Description of Background Art
Conventional refrigerators include an outer shell and an inner liner, with a breaker strip disposed therebetween to act as a heat-break. Typically, the outer shell includes a forward marginal edge which turns inwardly to act as a flange for magnetic attraction to the magnetic door gasket with the breaker strip being secured within a rolled portion of the flange. If a refrigerator door is in an opened position, a seam is apparent where the breaker strip meets the outer shell. Such an arrangement is shown in Palmer U.S. Pat. No. 2,789,720. The seam may be undesirable from an appearance standpoint.
The outer shell of known refrigerator cabinets is typically of steel or sheet metal construction. The front marginal edge therefore provides a metallic surface on which a magnetic door gasket seals against. Accordingly, a seamless front face may be achieved by further extending inwardly the front marginal edge of the outer shell. Such a construction is shown in Kesling U.S. Pat. No. 3,078,003.
The use of the outer shell to provide a seamless front face aggravates a condition known known as "sweating." When a portion of the outer shell extends internally to the refrigerator cabinet, condensation is more likely to build up on this front face. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize "anti-sweat" heating elements disposed rearwardly of the front face to minimize such condensation. These heating elements increase the cost of the refrigerator both from a manufacturing standpoint and an operational standpoint. With the high cost of energy, it is desirable to minimize the necessity of such heaters.
The present invention overcomes the above problems of prior refrigerator cabinets, in a novel and simple manner.